That’s all I have to say about tonight’s run. I’ll get to that in a second though.

So lately I’ve been a bit frustrated. With certain things among stuff, one of them being the fact that I’ve been exercising in bunches and eating pretty decently. My frustration stems from the fact that it hasn’t exactly yielded results. It’s been about 2 or 3 weeks of consistency, and I know you should never pay too much attention to the results (it is a lifestyle, after all), but I figured I should have been seeing some sort of gain. With that frustration at the back of my mind, my spirits were heavily dampened when I looked out my window today. Literally too, because it was wet out.

I mean, I’m fine with rain. It’s good stuff. I’m fine with snow. It’s fun stuff. But oh lord why does slush have to exist. And today was slush at its best or worst, whichever one I hate more. So facing that, coupled with my frustration at lack of (visible) results, I nearly decided to stay home today. Sit back, watch some TV (didn’t that new Netflix with Kevin Spacey come out?), and eat some food. But then I thought about it for a while. If I’m frustrated that I don’t look like a Greek sculptor’s masterpiece yet, then why would I think that dogging it would get me any closer to my goals? There’s only one thing I could do at that very moment to better myself, and that was to strap up.

Throwing on my gear, I was still daunted by the insane amount of slush. Luckily, I went over and snagged these like, shoe claws. The description escapes me, alright? But they were a godsend today. I’ve been running in some pretty heavy snow the last couple of days, so I was used to running on uneven ground, high kneeing my way around. With the slush and these magic traction straps, I was able to push off the balls of my feet, allowing me to run in my natural stride again for the first time in a while. It felt like the ground was the sturdiest it’s been, and even though it was raining, once you accept the fact that you’re wet, it’s really not an issue. The result was one of the more enjoyable runs I’ve had, even though the conditions couldn’t have been more adverse.

And man, did I push myself. I tried to stay at 75-80% for the entire run, culminating in a damn near 100% final push. You don’t understand how great it felt to have perfect traction again. Don’t think I’m ever letting those quantum grip shoe attachments out of my sight. Just makes me confident that I can for a run in any condition. Pushing myself that hard got me to thinking. Maybe the perceived lack of results is because I haven’t been able to push myself like this lately? Well, problem no more, and I’ll plan to better my time tomorrow.

I’m just glad that it’s finally become a habit. These days, if I don’t go out and pound the pavement, I’ll start to get a little anxious. A day I can handle, but come that second day of not running, and it’s all I can think about.

On a side note, I kept waiting for karma to kick in the entire run. I work for the government, and after coming back from a state mandated snack time spent at the store, I was driving along today. Just minding my own business, ready to munch down on my sausage mini biscuits, with cheese of course. I turned down the street and made eye contact with a lady passing on the sidewalk, walking in the rain. She was giving me a look, but all I read it as was “I’m jealous of your delicious snack”, so I turned back (thinking I know, right?) and didn’t even realize that apparently there was a huge puddle right there. I only know this, because my passenger buddy let out in a somber tone, “duuuude.”

After I inquired, he was all, “you just straight up got her with that puddle, and I had to make eye contact the entire time.” So yeah, that’s what that look she gave me was. She saw the puddle, and me basically giving her my dumb face as I plowed through it. Because of that, I completely expected to get blasted by every single puddle I was running near tonight. As fate would have it, the closest I got was a splash that landed perfectly around me. So, neat for me, I guess. Sorry lady.